Flexible toll barrier



Dec. 22, 1953 J. A. T. ELLISON FLEXIBLE TOLL BARRIER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21, 1950 INVENTOR.

22, 1953 J. A. T. ELLISON FLEXIBLE TOLL BARRIER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed. NOV. 21, 1950 IN VEN TOR.

Dec. 22, 1953 J. A. T. ELLlSON FLEXIBLE TOLL BARRIER Filed Nov. 21, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1N VEN TOR.

John A. 7'15 lison Patented Dec. 22, 1953 UNITED STAT new OFFICE FLEXIBLE TOLL BARRIER John A. T. Ellison, Seattle, Wash. Application. November 21, 1950, Serial No. 196,888

2 Claims.

'Thexpre'seiit invention'relates to a toll barrier system and more particularly to a system wherein'the barrier remains in a' non-obstructing posi- -tionunless passage thereby is attempted without first-depositing a coin.

In recent years vehicle parking has become a 'perpleking dilemma in most urban areas-even frwith the advent of the-parking meters. Parking 'lot's have'not "been a'solution because the wages Botan attendant combined with therental for such a'lo'tnecessitatethe charging of a parking rate which is prohibitively high for the average motorist. Some cities-have attempted to elimi- "natethe'need for a parking lot. attendant by instal'ling a parking meter for each individual stall f the lot, but this requires'that the parking lot be policed to insure that coins have been de- --posited' in'the meters in addition to the fact that :such an installation has a high initial'cost. To eliminate the need for such policing, coin-operated barriers for each "individual stall have 'been proposed in the form of a gate which is locked in a closed position automatically by a ='vehic'le'ntering"the stall and which can be opened after the deposit of'a coin to permit the vehicle to ale'ave the stall. Such an arrangement is extremerly expensive as wellas being open to the objection that the'gates are often prematurely closed rby avehicle maneuvering to get into the stalls.

Accordingly, "workable solution would be an arrangement whereby a parkin fee is deposited in a suitable meter 'either'when the vehicle is entering or leavi-ng 'the'parking lot as such a system requires only a single barrier at the point of entry instead of a-barrier for each individual stall. Furthermore, obvious advantages are enjoyed by a toll barriersystem wherein the barrier is normally-inactivathat is to say, a barrier which as- .sumes an obstructing position only if a toll is not deposited at the required time.

L Therefore, it isan object of the present invention to provide-an-improved toll barrier system ofthis general-naturewhich is able to cope with iall.-of 'thelpark-ing situations which might iq'uite z-ieasibly arise,- as for example, the situation in which a vehicle is inadvertently driven into the parking lot when'all ofthe 'parking'stalls therein arc -already full, and the driver of this overcapacity vehicle desires to leave without the normallprerequisite (at-depositing a coin.

lt is-afurther-object of the invention'to provide an improved barrier including a special .powermeans 'for use in such a toll barrier system -which will automaticallyclose almost it 'has a'ppeared that the most intothe 'lot instantaneously at the proper time and which can withstand, without damage, a considerable amount of force if engaged by a vehicle.

With the foregoing and other still more particular objects and advantages inview, the invention consists in the novel construction and in-the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the barrier of the present invention installed in a passageway and occupying a non-obstructing position. I

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the barrier taken along the line -2--2 of Fig. land with part of the power means for raising the barrier exposed.

Fig. 3 is the front 'elevational view of Fig. 2

, with the barrier shown in a raised obstructing position.

Figs. 4 and 5 are schematic plan views partly in section showing the position of the piston and valves when the barrier is in the non-obstructing and obstructing positions, respectively.

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view through one of theroad' switch unitsyand Fig. 7 is a schematic view of :the circuit for controlling the barrier.

Referring to' the drawings; an arrangement is shown-in which a single passageway is' 'used both as an entrance and as an exit to a parking lot, the passageway being defined by curbings l t spaced a sufficient distance-apart to conveniently permit the passage of a vehicle therebetween. As a removable barrier for the "passageway,- I prefer to use a chain l l extending from the eyed =headof a-standard [2 to aspecial upright housing 13, the said standard and the housing being-anchored to the pavement at oppositesides of the passageway so that the chain traversesth'e latter. The housing is presents a vertical front leg M and a rearwardly sloping hollow .leg I5" integraltherewith, with the upper end of the "housing being provided witha hawse pipe I 6 communicating with the chamber in the'sloping leg; It will be noted that within "the sloping leg, ad- Jacent its juncture with-the front leg, there is provided a bottom pocket 29 serving as a chain locker. The lower end-of the slopingleg has a cylinder 'l-l-secured therein, and working in this cylinder is a piston 18 having an integral piston .rod. 20. This piston rod is .journaled in'a-packing gland I9-at the forward-end or the cylinder and presents an eye 21 at its free end to which one end of the barrier chain?! I is attached =Refer-ring to Fig. 4 it'will 'b'en'oted that two pipes 22 and 23 are connected to the forward and rear end portions, respectively, of the cylinder and these pipes are cross-connected by a third pipe 24 continuing on beyond the pipe 23 to provide an exhaust pipe 25. A supply pipe 26 connecting with a supply of fluid under pressure, as for example, compressed air, joins pipes 22 and 24 at their juncture. It will be noted that the crossconnecting pipe 24 and the exhaust pipe are provided with solenoid valves 21 and 28, respectively, of which the former is normally open and the latter normally closed. These valves are governed by a control circuit to be later explained. For the present it will suflice to say that when the solenoids of the valves are energized the valve 27 closes and the valve 28 opens. An alarm airwhistle 9 may be provided at the end of the exhaust pipe 25.

When the valves are as shown in Fig. 4 the pressurized fluid is supplied through pipes 22 and 23 to both sides of the piston l8, and since the forward working face of the latter is smaller in area than the rear face thereof the resulting pressure differential forces the piston to the forward end of the cylinder. The barrier chain is made of a length suflicient to drop freely onto the surface of the passageway between the curbings, as shown in Fig. 2, when the piston is assuming this forward position. When the solenoid valves 2! and 28 are energized and hence close and open, respectively, as shown in Fig. 5, the supply of pressurized fluid working against the rear face of the piston is dumped to the atmosphere through valve 28. The pressure on the forward face of the piston then exceeds that in the rear face and causes the piston to instantly move to the rear end of the cylinder. This piston movement causes the chain to be drawn through the hawse pipe and the stroke of the piston is sufficient to responsively raise the barrier chain, as shown in Fig. 3, to a height preferably as great as that of the wheel hub of the average vehicle.

An anchor chain 30 is anchored at the foot of the sloping leg and is housed therein with the other end being connected to the barrier chain. As can be seen in Fig. 2, the anchor chain is preferably of such a length that it will be drawn nearly taut when the barrier chain is in its inactive position. When the latter is raised, as in Fig. 3, the resulting slack links of the anchor chain stack in the chain locker. If the vehicle strikes the barrier when the latter occupies its raised obstructing position, the piston will be pulled to the forward end of the cylinder in which location the anchor chain will be drawn taut and will relieve the piston rod of any further pull should the motorist attempt to drive further. A diagonal side brace 3| is provided to reinforce the housing against the exerted pull of the vehicle should the above situation eventualize.

To aid in a ready understanding of the control circuit layout, the relays have been identified by a letter of the alphabet and each switch controlled by one of the relays has been given a designation on the drawing comprising a numeral followed by either a letter B or M. The letter B, intended to be suggestive of the word broken, signifies that the switch is normally closed, and hence is broken or opened by the energizing of the respective relay. Likewise, the letter M is intended to be suggestive of the word made in order to signify that the switch is normally open, and hence is made or closed by the energizing of the respective relay. Accordingly, in the following discussion, the relay switches will be identified by a letter prefix, sig'- nifying the relay controlling the particular switch, followed by a hyphen and a suffix comprising the aforedescribed numeral and letter B or M designation of the switch in the drawing.

Before studying the control circuit it will be noted by referring to Fig. 1 that three road switch units, whose switches are designated Rl, R2, and R3, are arranged in the passageway so as to be engaged sequentially by the wheels on the corresponding sides of entering and departing vehicles. As can be seen in Fig. 6, each unit is housed in a laterally extending road cavity 35 open at the top and presenting a short pedestal 36 at the bottom upon which the switch proper is mounted. The horizontal flanges of a pair of angle rails 31 are embedded in the road-bed at opposite sides of this cavity, and surmounting the switch proper is a channel bar 38 yieldingly supported by a pair of relatively stiff rubber webs 39 vulcanized to the angle bars and the channel bar. From this brief explanation it will be apparent that when a vehicle wheel engages the top of the channel bar, the bar is depressed into engagement with the underlying switch to close the latter and as soon as the channel is free of the wheel it is raised upwardly by the webs 39 to its normal surmounting position. The three road switch units are placed close enough together to preclude two of the switches from being closed simultaneously as by two different vehicles.

Referring now to the control circuit layout of Fig. '7, it is seen that the circuit to the solenoid valves 21 and 28 includes switches D-2M and J-IB, so that in order for this circuit to be completed, relay D must be energized while relay J is tie-energized. Before proceeding to the individual circuits for these relays, a ready understanding thereof may be expedited by noting as a preview that since it is desired to have incoming vehicles enter freely into the parking lot, and outgoing vehicles leave only after the payment of a toll, the control circuit is arranged so that the energizing of relay J is made dependent upon the deposit of a coin in a suitable coin-box 33', and so that relay D is only energized during the exodus of an outgoing vehicle. This coin-box is carried on a standard adjacent the passageway and is arranged so that a switch 34 housed therein is closed each time a coin is deposited. The circuit for relay J is controlled by normally open switch H-ZM, and relay H is energized to close this switch by the closing of the coin switch 34.

Reverting to relay D, the energizinz circuit for this relay includes switches F-I M and E IM and thus is completed when relays E and F are both energized. The energizing circuits for these relays include, respectively, road switches R2 and R3, and since these road switches are only closed instantaneously as a vehicle wheel passes thereover, holding circuits are provided to keep relays E and F energized after the road switches R3 and R2 are closed by a departing vehicle and until road switch R! is closed. Continuing to these holding circuits, relay E is kept energized by a circuit through switches D-IM and G-IB, and relay F is kept energized by a circuit including switches F-2M and C-2B. Relay C, which opens the latter switch, is energized by an outgoing vehicle through a circuit including switches J-ZM and A-IM. The first of these two switches, as will later appear from an explanation of the holding circuit for relay J, remains closed after the deposit of a coin until the rear wheels of the outgoing vehicle cross road switch RI. The closing cities road sw-itchalways energizsireiayn and hencecauses the closing'of switch A-I M, 'so that-- relay-C is always energized,"and hence' relay F isalways d e-energized when an outgoing vehicle-- oloses road-switch RI; while thisroad switch is thus closed, relay D'remain's energizedfor a purpose to be later explained, through 'a holdin circuit-including switches E 3M-,'-A-3M,andl

Accordingly, the instant thatroadswitchRl' then" opens causing switch A-3M 't'o openby the result-- ing de 'energizing of relay- A, "relay D 'is dener also gizedm This opens switch D- l M and hence de-energizes relayE. Relay C-has a holding cir-u cuit through switches C I M and F-l BQ -tIie latter:

switchand the afore mentionedswitch C-i-B" functioning to prevent relays C and F 'frim-be'in'g energized at the same time. sirice'relay l is normallynotenergized; and hence since switch J-IM is normally not closed to" complete -1 ;he-

v afore-saidenergizing circuit for relay C-when avehicleis entering the parking lot, a switch which" ishlwaysopen when an incoming vehicle closesro'adswitch Rl'is provided in parallel with switch J-ZM-so-that relay C will always be energized-by such incoming vehicle, and namely switch D-AB. This arrangement precludes relay F from being energized whenan incoming vehicle closes road switch-R2 regardless of which direction'the preceding vehicle-was traveling-and hence'assures th'at'such incoming-vehicle cannot cause relay D tobeenergized.

Relays K, L, and N, and-ratchet relay unit '40 are provided in the control circuit to keep relay J energizedafter a coin has been deposited and until both the front and rear wheels of a vehicle a ratchetwheel and the latter being a lantern circumferential length of the wheel-in which the trundles; designated by 44-, corresponds" to' the openings between the trundles; Theswitch ih is spring-urged to an open position-and -is1;ar-: ranged tobe activated closing engagement with a terminal 45. The ratchet wheel 52 is operated by a dog 46 activated in turn by a solenoid 4?. In the drawing, switch 4| is shown'in-circuit-closing position, and namely a position whereat it rests-in one of the openings between the trundles 44, and it can be readilyseen thatwhen-the ratchet wheel 42 is advanced one step, the switch will then be raised by "the next trundle so as to close the switch. The next solenoid-responsive movement of the ratchet wheel perforce again opens the switch. Thus it is seen that the'switch M opens every-second timethat the solenoid45 is energized.

This solenoid 41 has two energizing circuits connected in. ,parallel, one. :including zswitches N-2M and H-llVI, and the other being controlled by switch K-QM. The first of these circuits is provide to insure that switch 4! will always be in an open position after a coin is deposited even if perchance in a closed position immediately prior to such deposit because of some irregularity in the sequence of operation of the control system. This oflice of such circuit is performed by way of the fact that whenever switch 4| is in such a closed position, the energizing circuit for relay by the trundles into circuit l Nis completed and: hence switch NQM is ic losedii The insertion of the coin 'causesrelayl-I toener gize and-hence insures that switch H'2M is closedto complete the energizing circuit for the-Iatchet relay d2, thus causing switch M to reopen.

The" second energizing circuit for th'e solenoid ilthatis to say, the circuitincluding switch" K iMyis solely dependent upon relay K'for com pletioh; Normally closed-switches D- lM' and" A- IM are-included in the-energizing circuit for relay K'and hence such circuit is completed only" when relays D'and' A are both energized. T As ex plained earlier, these two relays are both 'energizedonly'while road switch RI is'closed by 'an. outgoingvehicle: Thus it is seen that the ratchet switch Mis closed-and-relay N energized when ever the front wheelsof a departing vehicle cross the three "road switches. The energizing circuit f of relay L includes switches K I M and normally closed-switch 1-1-43 so-"that this relay is alsoenergized when relay K i's'energized. As mentioned earlie'n'the -holding circuit for relay J includes switchL-IBE However, switch 'N-IM is wired in parallelwith this switch so thatwhen the-lat ter'is opened-by the energizing of relay L, relayJ remains energized by the alternative holdingcircuit through switch N llVL Switch A2M,'which is momentarily closed when roadswitch RF is closed, is also wired in parallel" with switch L-lB' sothatit carries the load during'the'split second that'the' holding circuit for relay-- J is' shifting from switch L-lBto switchM-IM; It will be notedthat relay L remains energizedafter road switch Bl reopens through a holding circuit including switches H-IB, J- lM- and L-IM.

From the foregoing discussion it is seen that relays J, L, and 'N remain energized while the rear wheels of a departing vehicle passroad switches RI and R2. When the rear wheels reach road switch 'Rl', relay K is again-energized so that the energizing circuit to the solenoid 41- through switch K-AM is completed. This results in'the stepping of the ratchet relay unit so thatswitch ilis opened and relay N is de-energized. At this point the holding circuit for relay J transfersirom switch N-lM to switch K-3M and hence-relay L will remain energized until relay K'is de-energized. The latter occurs at the in-' stant that road switch R I reopens upon the com' pleted exit ofthe departingvehicle because this. reopening results'in the opening of switch A-AM; At this time relays L,,D, and E are also de-ener-. gized due'to the opening of switches J-IM, A-SM" and D-IM, respectively.

Relay Gis' included in the circuit to provide for the circumstance in which a, motorist backs over'the road switches in the exit direction while parking and hence accidently causes the barrier to be activated. As afore-mentioned, the holdin circuit for relay E includes switch G43, and it will be noted that the energizing circuit for relay.

G includes road switch R3 andlswitchDtM; the

latter being in a .olosed position whenever. the. barrier isactivated. .Accordingly, when the moe. toristqdrives again over road switch .R3,. relay.,G\ will be energized, and this will open switch G-iB and hence open the holding circuit for relay E. Since the circuit to the circuit for the solenoid valves is open whenever relay E is de-energized, the barrier will assume its inactive position and vehicles can again enter the parking lot without necessitating the deposit of a coin.

The inclusion of switch D-QM in the energizing circuit of relay K, which in turn, through switch K-4M, controls the energizing of the solenoid 41,

provides for the possible situation in which the driver of an outgoing vehicle, because of a traffic jam or some other circumstance, permits an incoming vehicle to enter the parking lot after he has deposited a coin and before he has effected an exit. In such a situation, no harm results because relay D is never energized, and hence switch D- ilvi is never closed, due to the closing of the road switches by the incoming vehicle. In fact, even if an outgoing motorist, after depositing the required coin, drives as far as the second road switch and then backs up to allow another vehicle to enter, he will not have to deposit a second coin to leave the lot because when he closes road switch R3 while backing up, relay D will be ale-energized due to the resultant energizing of relay G as above described.

In order to provide for the possible situation in which a vehicle is driven into the parking lot after the lot is already full, and hence is entitled to depart without the depositing of a coin as a prerequisite, a, normally open switch 50 wired in parallel with the coin-box switch 34 is provided along with a device for closing this switch while such an over-capacity situation is present. This device will be hereinafter termed a computer and can comprise, as shown schematically in Fig. 7, two ratchet wheels El and 52 coupled to a third Wheel 53 presenting a cam finger 59. These ratchet wheels have their teeth directed for opposite rotation and ar driven by pivoted solenoids 55 and 56, respectively, through dogs 57 and 58. The energizing circuit for th first of these two solenoids includes switches E-ZM, C-2M and J-ZB, and hence is completed when road switch R2 is closed in the incoming direction at which time relays E and C are energized and relay J is de-energized. Solenoid 56, on the other hand is controlled by relay K for it is actuated through normally open switch K-ZM, and as aiore-explained, this relay is only energized when road switch R1 is closed by an outgoing vehicle. Since both the front and rear wheels of an entering or outgoing vehicle cross the road switches, the ratchet wheels and 52 will respectively progress two teeth in the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, each time a vehicle enters or leaves the lot. This will cause the third wheel to turn one way or the other with the over-all progress of the latter in the clockwise direction being governed by the mathematical difference between the number of vehicles entering and leaving the parkin lot. By this arrangement the wheels can be set so that the finger 5 1 will progress to the position shown in Fig. 7 when the said mathematical difference equals the parking capacity of the lot. With such a setting the act of an over-capacity vehicle entering the lot, will cause the finger to close the switch 59 and the switch will remain closed until the vehicle leaves the lot and causes the finger to retreat from beneath the switch.

If it is desired to have a separate entrance and exit for the parking lot, the exit can be provided with the arrangement above described, and this arrangement can be modified for the entrance by eliminating the coin-box and associated switch 34. This modification would make it impossible for a vehicle to depart through the entrance to the lot.

It is thought that the invention, and its advantages, will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of the preferred illustrated embodiment. It is self-evident that changes from the illustrated and described embodiment may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is accordingly my intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. In a barrier system, a flexible barrier adapted to be anchored at both of its ends with the major part of its length extending across a passageway and movable from a lowered slackened non-obstructing position to and from an elevated non-slackened obstructing position, and power means connected to the barrier at a location adjacent one of its ends for taking up and letting out slack between said location and the other end of the barrier and, respectively, letting out and taking up slack between said location and the adjacent end of the barrier, said power being arranged and said location being such that there is no slack in the portion of the barrier between the said location and the adjacent end of the barrier when the barrier is in its said slackened non-obstructing position so that the anchored ends of the barrier will take the entire load of an externally applied force tensioning the barrier and directed endwise of the passageway.

2. A barrier comprising a flexible member of sufficient length to extend across a passageway, said member having two ends one of which is fixed, operating means comprising a cylinder and a piston and rod therein, said cylinder being fixed and said rod being attached to the second end of said member, fluid pressure means operatively connected to said cylinder on opposite sides of said piston, the pressure means on the rod side of the piston being constantly open and the pressure means on the other side of the piston being provided with a controllable valve, whereby the flexible member may be slackened at will.

JOHN A. T. ELLISON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

